Dennis Daugaard, a Republican who had been supportive of expanding Medicaid eligibility in his state, last week changed his mind after hearing the incoming Trump administration's plans for repealing or reforming the ACA.

Advocate Health Care and NorthShore University HealthSystem, both in the Chicago area, will continue their fight to merge and become one of the largest systems in the nation, despite a recent court ruling that weakened their case.

Paul Pawlak, who has led Silver Cross Hospital for nearly 30 years, is retiring next year. Pawlak has fiercely guarded the independence of the hospital, which is located about 40 miles from downtown Chicago in New Lenox, Ill.

Although the Chicago-area hospital group claimed the organizations’ allegations were made outside of the time limit, U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang said the case can go forward under a 2004 Federal Trade Commission antitrust challenge of the deal.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Ohio and affiliated health plans in 13 other states became the first insurers to reward providers that receive integrated-care certification from the Joint Commission.

The operating margin at Mercy Health, the largest health system in Ohio, fell to a slim 0.9% in the first half of this year. Higher labor expenses and the residual effects from a divested insurer hurt the not-for-profit system.

A tweet posted by @pravsector contained a screen shot of a spreadsheet page with two dozen patients' names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, their insurance carriers and insurance ID numbers, and for some, abbreviated diagnoses such as “prostate” or “sex drive.”

Advocate Health Care in Illinois and St. Peter's Healthcare System in New Jersey want the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on whether their pension plans should be exempt from certain federal protections for workers.